Wire Wrapping Briolettes

I recently bought some gem stone briolettes and then realised I didn't know how to achieve a wire wrapping finish on them. Etsy offers some tutorials but these aren't free; a simple internet search found the following:

http://www.videojug.com/webvideo/how-to-wire-wrap-a-briolette-jewelry-making



A pdf version from a fellow Etsyian (this one's very clear):

http://madeinlowell.googlepages.com/Howtowirewrapabriolette.pdf



If you want me to find any jewellery techniques I'm a great Google searcher so let me know; this is the result of what I've learned:

I'm Very Fickle...

Ashamed I haven't posted anything on here for nearly two weeks. Reason being I had a germ of an idea to put together all those awful craft items we come across from time to time. So I've been working on this and woefully ignoring this blog. If you're a bit fed up with poor sales (things seem very slow at the moment) this may be a bit of light relief for you: http://crapcrafts.blogspot.com/

Have just joined Byhandme : https://www.byhand.me/ - saw this on an Etsy forum post; will let you know if any good results come from registering on here.

Loads of listings and more views!

Google Analytics say that viewings are well up on last week - perhaps due to (fairly) intense marketing and lots of listings on Sunday at different times. Encouraged that there were still quite a few views on Monday - 17 may be laughable to some but after a few weeks of flat-lining is very cheering. Offering free postage throughout March - needed to change one item to a multiple as after posting one item to US have not done better than break even! Tip to others - if you offer free shipping make sure that items are priced at more than a few dollars or you'll make a loss. Didn't think of this in all the excitement of listing numerous items at the weekend. Onwards and upwards - next week it's social networking sites to see if things keep improving. Somebody please leave a comment - you could win a $10 voucher!

Giveaway!

As my blog is sadly lacking in comments and according to Google Analytics has had the princely total of 11 views since its' inception I have decided to run a Giveaway (thanks to Timothy Adam Designs for some great ideas on increasing blog traffic). Everyone who leaves a comment on my blog will be entered into a draw and the winner will be randomly picked to receive a $10 voucher for my Etsy shop. Either use it to put towards a more expensive item or choose an item that costs $10 - like the encaustic ACEO pictured above. The draw will be made at the end of March or whenever 50 people have made comments - whichever comes sooner!

Fusing Fine Silver

I recently bought and reviewed Liz Jones' book 'Silver Wire Fusing' and this weekend tried my hand at making fine silver rings. Any excuse to fire up my blowtorch! Great results (as I hope you will agree from the picture) and I quickly turned out what I think are some fairly decent results. I am putting these on sale in Etsy today so will see if anyone else thinks the same. Fine silver doesn't tarnish with firestain at all and remains bright, only needing a light polish. Liz recommends tumbling the finished rings - my budget doesn't run to having a tumbler at the moment as they are priced at about £150. However, hammering the rings does harden them into durable, solid findings.

Supplier of the Month

I recently discovered Shiana - this is a suplier of mainly Hill Tribe silver and has some more unusual items that I haven't seen before. They are also an ethical fair trade company who support the people who painstakingly create beautiful designs using basic equipment. An interesting section is their black silver range - some of these would look lovely mixed with the usual silver. Prices seem good and shipping costs fair. Go to: http://www.shiana.com and see what you think!

Book Review

I've just treated myself to Liz Jones' book 'Silver Wire Fusing'. The techniques in this book are centred upon solderless joins achieved by using pure silver wire rather than Sterling silver. Pure silver melts at a lower temperature and doesn't attract firestain in the way Sterling does. The book's written in a chatty style and the photos are excellent. The only supplier of pure silver wire I can find is Wires.co.uk who sell various gauges either by the reel or in 1 metre lengths. The only thing that the book misses is putting the equivalent millimetre width of wire. Best place to buy this book is on Amazon - lots of sellers and I bought it new for less than £9 sterling.